FRA: Handbook on European law relating to asylum, borders and immigration

After the success of the first edition, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) launched an update of their guide to European law on asylum, borders and immigration. As well as updating the material contained in the handbook published last year, the guide is being made available in a further two languages.

The Handbook on European law relating to asylum, borders and immigration, which builds on the experience of a previous joint project between the two institutions, was welcomed in particular by lawyers, judges and immigration practitioners, who work on such issues on an everyday basis. Altogether, the handbook has so far been downloaded approximately 26,000 times from the FRA and ECtHR websites.

It is the first comprehensive guide to European law in the areas of asylum, borders and immigration, taking into account both the case-law of the ECtHR and that of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It also contains the relevant EU Regulations and Directives, as well as references to the European Social Charter (ESC) and other Council of Europe instruments.

“The area of asylum and migration is increasingly important, and we are glad to be able to offer such a useful tool,” said FRA Director Morten Kjaerum. “After the tragedies we have witnessed over the last few months, we see there is a real need for such guides to assist practitioners in the field to improve respect for fundamental rights at Europe’s borders.”

“The very positive feedback on this publication indicates that there was a significant need for a manual on the various aspects of European law in these areas” said Court Registrar Erik Fribergh.

Today’s handbook updates the material previously published in English, French, German and Italian, and is additionally being published for the first time in Hungarian and Spanish, with more language versions coming later this year. It is aimed at lawyers, judges, prosecutors, border guards, immigration officials and others working with national authorities, as well as non-governmental organisations confronted with legal issues in the areas covered by the handbook in all these countries.

The manual focuses on law covering the situation of third-country nationals in Europe and covers a broad range of topics, including access to asylum procedures, procedural safeguards and legal support in asylum and return cases, detention and restrictions to freedom of movement, forced returns, and economic and social rights.